Volkswagen Group Financial Services
The Financial Services Division covers the Volkswagen Group’s dealer and customer financing, leasing, banking and insurance activities, fleet management and mobility offerings. The division comprises Volkswagen Financial Services and the financial services activities of Scania and Porsche Holding Salzburg. It also includes the contracts concluded by our international joint ventures in its figures.
The Financial Services Division’s products and services were popular in fiscal year 2020, although the Covid-19 pandemic weighed on demand. At 8.6 (9.3) million, the number of new financing, leasing, service and insurance contracts worldwide was below the previous year’s level. The ratio of leased or financed vehicles to Group deliveries (penetration rate) in the Financial Services Division’s markets increased to 35.5 (34.5)% as the Group’s deliveries fell at a higher rate than the number of contracts signed. As of December 31, 2020, the total number of contracts was 24.1 million, up 1.8% from year-end 2019. The number of contracts in the customer financing/leasing area climbed 1.2% to 11.9 million, while it increased by 2.4% to 12.2 million in the service/insurance area.
In Europe/Other Markets, the financial services business was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in the second quarter. The number of new contracts signed here in 2020 fell by 9.4% to 6.3 million. The penetration rate was 50.1 (48.5)%. At 17.6 million, the total number of contracts at the end of the reporting year slightly exceeded the 2019 figure of 17.5 million. The customer financing/leasing area accounted for 7.6 million of these contracts (−1.3%), while 10.0 million (+2.3%) related to the service/insurance area.
At 936 thousand, the number of new contracts signed in North America was 2.1% down on the previous year. The ratio of leased or financed vehicles to Group deliveries in North America was 67.0 (59.3)%. The number of contracts here on December 31, 2020 was 3.1 million, an increase of 2.2% compared with the previous year. The customer financing/leasing area accounted for 1.9 million contracts (+4.7%) and 1.2 million contracts (−1.7%) were owing to the service/insurance area.
The South America region was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in the second and third quarter in particular. The number of new contracts signed here in the reporting year fell to 318 (386) thousand. The penetration rate declined to 32.7 (38.4)%. The total number of contracts as of December 31, 2020 increased by 2.6% year-on-year to 721 thousand. The contracts mainly related to the customer financing/ leasing area.
In Asia-Pacific, where the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread first, the number of new contracts signed in the past fiscal year rose by 5.3% to 1.1 million. The ratio of leased or financed vehicles to Group deliveries was 17.7 (15.5)%. The total number of contracts amounted to 2.6 million at the end of the reporting year, 9.1% more than at year-end 2019. The customer financing/leasing area grew by 9.6% to 1.9 million contracts, and the service/insurance area by 7.8% to 0.7 million contracts.